PB Triple Threat Cookies

So, I know that ya’ll don’t know me well yet but here comes a big old truth bomb.  I am addicted to chocolate, I have very little self control and I struggle with my weight.  Those three facts have a direct correlation. Shocking, I know. Now, I do a lot of baking and cooking because I loooooove it.  It is my stress release and where I find peace. To try to alleviate some of the temptation and therefore calories I will occasionally make things that I don’t particularly like because then I won’t eat them. Sounds like a good plan, right? Sometimes it does work but not always…in fact not even often. That is the case with these cookies. I always try to bake up some cookies on Sunday afternoon when/if my sons are at my house.  It is part of my master plan to make them miss me when they aren’t there. Hey, a mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do. So anyway, I decided to make up some of my favorite chocolate chip cookie dough but add in some peanut butter chips and some Reese’s Pieces Baking Bits and milk chocolate chips (because why not).  I am not a fan of peanut butter chips or Reese’s Pieces. I thought I might be in the clear here. WRONG! These turned out so well. They have that wonderful buttery cookie dough flavor with melty chocolate and peanut butter and then you get the crispy little crunch of the candy coating on the Reese’s Pieces. That is why I named them Triple Threat.  Because there are three levels of dangerous going on here. Oh, well, what’s a few more calories.

Gather up all of your ingredients.  Make sure that your butter is softened a bit if not at room temperature.  I use salted butter because that is what I normally have an abundance of in my frig but you can use unsalted and then add 1 tsp. of salt.  I use the eggs that come from our own chickens so the sizes vary as you can see from my picture. I always use eggs that would be considered large when purchased from a store.  A little bit of extra moisture doesn’t hurt because of the refrigeration time but too little and you will have a dry cookie.

Cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until fluffy.  This will take around 2 to 3 minutes on medium to medium-high speed.  Beat in the eggs and the vanilla.  

Next, mix in the cornstarch, baking soda and flour until a soft dough forms.  You can sift these together if you feel the urge but I usually don’t bother. I do make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of my mixing bowl well a couple of times so that everything gets nicely combined.  Mix in your chips and candies.  You can do this with the mixer if you use the stir or slow speed setting or you can do it by hand if your arms need a workout.    

Now, this is very important, so don’t try to skip this step.  This dough needs to be refrigerated for at least an hour. I have even left it in the frig overnight and baked the cookies when I had more time.  Once this step is complete you can preheat your oven and line your cookie sheet with parchment or silpat. Drop the dough by 1 – 2 tablespoon sized blobs, depending on how big you want your cookies to be and bake for 10 – 12 minutes.  Watch them closely because you don’t want to overbake them. My oven takes 11 minutes and I remove them when the edges are just starting to brown and the tops look a wee bit under done. They will bake a little more while you let them rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before removing them to a rack or more parchment on your counter or a board for cooling.  

Serve these babies up warm or seal completely cooled cookies in an airtight container.  They keep nicely for several days because of the cornstarch in the dough.  Enjoy!